Rio: Colors of the Rainbow
by Prophet of Life
Summary: (REWRITE) To my new and old readers, give this rewrite a try! Set shortly after the first Rio and before Rio 2. Blu and Jewel are starting to enjoy their new life in the jungle, raising a family, when one day they find a traveling group of macaws, with one who holds the key to a peculiar secret. A tale of romance, adventure, friendship, and the power of believing in yourself!
1. Hollow Hunting

**Welcome once more, my dear readers! Now, this may seem out of the blue, but I am afraid that I am highly discontent with the current course of the story. So, I will attempt a rewrite! I hope that my previous followers will enjoy the story, and continue to show their support. I know that you may have already read this, but still, I highly encourage everyone to read on anyways! I will work my hardest to make these chapters as high-quality as possible for you all!**

**Now, this rewrite is an uneasy undertaking. I truly wish to see this story succeed, or now, become better, but this lies solely in you, my readers. I want to try to make this story more emotional, more powerful. I will attempt to keep the plot mostly the same, though some things may change, some chapters, disappear.**

**Please, I am rather nervous about this decision. If you enjoy the story, tell me so in a review.**

**This first chapter is rather unchanged. I added some details, but it is largely the same. Still, it is one of the chapters that I enjoy the most, and I hope you all will too.**

**To all my previous followers, and my newcomers, I hope you will all enjoy!**

**-Prophet**

The jungle stood lusciously around the city of Rio de Janeiro. A multitude of sounds could be heard throughout the jungle canopy, giving a sense of awe and wonder to the environment. Through the trees came the flapping sound of wings as a pair of blue birds wove their way through the endless trees. However, this particular set of birds, or to be more specific, macaws, were no ordinary fowl. Indeed, they just happened to be the last pair of Blue Spix Macaws on the _planet_.

"Whew, this is getting exhausting," commented Blu as he flapped his wings wearily. His mate, the freedom-loving, energetic Jewel, had no trouble shooting ahead of him. She hovered in the air for a moment as he struggled to catch up to her.

"Come on, Blu!" she shouted. Before Blu could reply, however, he looked up to see that the sky was rapidly turning gray, the distant sound of thunder increasing.

"Uh-oh," the macaw said as he looked up. He caught up to Jewel, and once more began to follow her.

The macaws had been traveling the jungle for a few hours now, in search for the perfect hollow to call home. However, while there was a variety of options, there were few available nests that seemed suitable. Most were too small, too big, to inconveniently located, etc. Blu wanted to find the perfect hollow, but they were running out of time.

"Huh?" Blu wondered as he felt something hit his wing. Looking up, he saw that it had now begun to rain, and the water was slowly coming down with increasing force.

"Jewel, wait! We've got to go back to the center! The rain's going to get worse!" he called to her. She looked hesitant as she stopped mid-flight, but she also knew that her mate had just learned how to fly not too long ago, and he was still not used to flying through such weather. It was a tricky thing.

She sighed and nodded in agreement. "You're right. Let's go."

The two did a U-turn and began to fly back in the general direction they had come from. The rain began to pour now, and Blu felt his wings begin to sag. From her sloppy flight patterns and grumbling, he could tell that Jewel was also becoming annoyed.

"Hold on, let's just stop up here," she called to him as she gestured to a nearby tree. They angled their wings, and both slowly descended until they had a firm grip on the tree branch. Luckily the tree had quite a bit of leaves, which helped shield them from the fierce rain. A misty fog had slowly begun to form.

"Just great..." Jewel grumbled. "There go our chances of finding a good hollow today..."

"Hey, it was you who didn't like any of the other hollows," Blu reminded her.

"Blu, are you crazy?! This is an important life decision! Everything has to be perfect! This is our sanctuary, this is where we will live together, this is where we will raise a family!" she exclaimed.

Blu was taken back by her seriousness, but he was even more caught off guard by that last remark. He started to feel nervous and felt a light blush coming to his face.

It had been around a month or so since Jewel had healed her wing. She hadn't been too happy about staying indoors while her wing healed, but luckily Blu had been there to keep her company. The two "lovebirds", as Rafael would always tease them, had grown much closer together during the time, as Blu would come in every day to visit her, trying to cheer her up. Their time together had revealed a lot to each other. Jewel had discovered that underneath all his clumsiness and weird habits, Blu was a very kind, sweethearted bird who simply had a unique way of expressing himself. Similiarly, their time together had shown Blu a softer, more loving side of Jewel, which she usually hid due to her difficult past.

Still, looking at Jewel and her annoyance with the weather, he decided she needed some cheering up. He smiled and walked over to her. He suddenly scooped her up and leaned over her, much like when they had met at the research center and she had tried to tackle him, only to end up in an unexpected position.

Jewel was bewildered at his sudden action. She tried to get free of his wings. "Blu, what are you doing?!"

He looked her directly in the eyes with the warmest smile she had ever seen. It surprised her so much that she froze for a few moments, heart beating frantically. Part of her mind screamed at her to ignore him, to preserve her fury. She couldn't help it though. As soon as she saw his gaze and that honest smile of his, she felt all of her anger melt away.

Blu looked at her right in the eye. _Those beautiful green eyes._ "Looks like you need some cheering up," he said, still smiling.

Jewel giggled. "Smooth, Casanova." She pulled him in for a deep kiss, savoring the warmness in her heart.

Eventually they broke apart. The sound of thunder was heard once more, slightly closer now. Blu kept one wing around her as he looked off into the heavy rain.

"We should go now."

"Yeah," she agreed.

The two once more took off into the storm. _Probably not the best idea_, Blu thought as they flew, since the rain kept pelting them, determined to take them down. His flaps became noisier, his path crooked. The fog was also increasingly troublesome, and his vision was becoming more limited by the moment.

"Blu, I can't see anything!" Jewel called out, worriedly. Her outline grew dimmer and dimmer in Blu's line of sight as the fog grew thicker, and the rain, faster.

"Don't worry, we're almost there," Blu tried to assure her, but his voice was drowned out by thunder. He couldn't even see the trees around them anymore. Jewel was trying to surge ahead in an attempt to find the center, but she was getting too far away.

"Jewel! Jewel!" Blu yelled as she disappeared from his line of sight. He tried to flap harder, but the downpour was too thick.

Before he could call out again, however, there was a spontaneous burst of light and roaring cry. He yelled in surprise as the fierce light blinded him. There was a nonstop ringing noise in his ears. He tried to close his eyes, but his wings were out of control, and he couldn't tell where he was going. For a few moments, he just flapped about frantically, with no destination. The ringing noise was subsiding and he was just thinking that he might be able to stop flapping when suddenly he felt himself smack into something hard.

"Ow!" he exclaimed as he crashed into something, fell, and landed on some other thing. His vision was blurry and he was dizzily blinking for a few moments until, groaning, he stood himself straight. His vision and hearing back, he could now hear the noise of the rain slowly growing fainter. He looked around in confusion until he looked at what was in front of him. He gasped. It was a hollow.

The sky had just started to clear to reveal a rapidly descending sun when Jewel came back. She looked at him with worry.

"Blu! Are you okay?" she asked him as she landed next to him on the branch.

"Look!" he told her, pointing at the hollow.

She looked at the hollow in amazement. She peeked her head to survey the inside.

"Blu, it's perfect!" she said in ecstasy.

"Really?" Blu said, shocked.

"Yes! It's the right size, we're pretty close to a river, there's some fruit trees not too far away, and there's even some dried moss we can use to make a nest!" she told him happily.

"I guess it's a pretty lucky find," he told her. He smiled as he once more pulled her closer. "Though my real treasure is right here in front of me." Jewel laughed as the two once more embraced each other.

For the rest of that evening, the two cleaned the hollow and arranged the moss in the nest, flying out occasionally to get more. Exhausted from their search, the two climbed into the nest just as the sun was setting, casting a soft orange color on the jungle. A soft chorus of animal cries created a peaceful symphony as the two lovebirds savored the first moments of their new life together.

Blu put his wing around Jewel and gave her a soft kiss on the head. She gave him a beautiful smile as she moved her head to nuzzle against his soft blue feathers.

"Good night, Jewel," he whispered to her as the darkness set in.

"Good night, Blu," she muttered contently.

…

Earlier that day, Fernando was in the research center's observation tower, cutting up some fruit in the kitchen as he listened to a woman speak on the news channel.

"_...and for today, all inhabitants in Rio can expect some periodic storms later in the evening, with occasional thunder and possible lightning strikes..."_

**Alright, the risky journey known as a rewrite begins!**

**As I said, not much change in this chapter. Still, the larger changes are yet to come. I believe that I may eliminate chapter 2 from the story, though 3 is definitely a keeper.**

**It's up to you, my dear readers. Tell me in the reviews what you think of this rewrite!**

**I'll just say it now to get it out of the way for the rest of the story: I do not own or take credit for Rio and any UNORIGINAL work is the property of Blue Sky Studios and Fox Entertainment.**

**Also, I forgot to mention: ALL ORIGINAL characters, location, and plot concepts are Copyright 2014 to ME.**

** -Prophet**


	2. Venomous Romance

**Alright, as all of you may see, I am skipping the previous chapter, Eagle Eagerness. Why? Well, I simply want to get to the story ASAP, since I know some of you will have already read this.**

**Speaking of which, I know some of you may have already read this, but please, guys, leave a review if you enjoyed. Don't turn away simply because it's a rewrite. Enjoy it. The story will be far better now, belive me, I am working hard on it. I'm in a bit of a... fragile condition. Fanfiction is one of the few things that brightens up my day. So please guys, don't simply get turned off because it's a rewrite. Give it a try. ****I am trying my hardest to get this story back up and running, but I am starting to regret my decision. Alas, what use is it to post a story for others to enjoy, if I can't enjoy it myself?**

**Sorry for rambling on like that. Anyways, read and review!**

** -Prophet**

_A Couple of Weeks Later..._

"Ahh, there we go!" Blu stated as he finished washing in the river, his feathers in tip-top condition.

"Excellent, amigo!" Rafael happily replied as he examined Blu. "You're all set to go!"

"Whew, it's been so long since we had a night as romantic as this one's going to be," Blu wondered nervously.

"Ah, don't worry about it! I've seen you two together these last few weeks, and you two lovebirds look great together! Cute is good and all, but it doesn't hurt to occasionally add a bit of spice, my friend," Rafael told him.

Indeed, the last few weeks had been wonderful for Blu. Wether it was one thing or another, it seemed like there was always something new going on in Rio. And there was no way he would rather face those misadventures than with Jewel at his side.

"Yeah, you're right," Blu agreed, fondly remembering all the last few weeks. With this night to help keep the flame going, hopefully things would get even better.

Blu's thoughts were cut off as a cry cut through the otherwise serene ambient.

"Rafael! Where are you?" A sharp voice echoed throughout the jungle. It was the voice of Eva, Rafael's mate.

"Gotta go, buddy. I told her I'd babysit the kids today," Rafael informed him as he got ready to fly.

"Alright, wish me luck!" Blu told him.

"You got it!" Rafael called out as he flew off.

Blu paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and then took off, flapping in the opposite direction. Around him, the sky was painted a rosy color from the evenings afterglow. The sounds of the jungle had begun to quiet down, forming a calm and peaceful environment. The canopy of trees stood ready and attentive, prepared for the wonders and dangers of the night.

"Wonders indeed," Blu said to himself as he flew on. He had arranged for Nico, Pedro, and some other friends to help set up a romantic dinner and date for him and Jewel, near a cliff with a gorgeous view of the moon. Nothing could possibly be more romantic in Blu's mind, so he had worked hard to make sure everything was perfect. He had gone scavenging for various mangoes, watermelons, and other fruits. The timid Tiny had told him a special fruit recipe that supposedly went along great with mint, so Blu had to go looking for the plant's leaves as well. Everything was set.

He was so distracted, he almost didn't notice the Sanctuary's Observation Tower when he flew close by it, or even his hollow. He began to slow down his flight, carving a small spiral as he flew down.

"Okay, let me just make sure I've got everything," Blu reminded himself as he went in the hollow to grab a small leather pouch where he had a few things stored.

"Hello, Blu," a voice welcomed him from the corner. He looked up and felt his beak drop.

Standing ready in a corner was Jewel, in the most beautiful condition Blu had ever seen her. Her feathers had been precisely cleaned and preened to the point where they seemed to glow. Her head and "hair" feathers were smooth and silky. Fixed on her head was a small pink flower. She shined as bright as an angel, leaving Blu speechless.

So she had already finished her own grooming, which Eva had helped her with. She looked similar to when he had first met her, except for the fact that she seemed to be _radiating utter beauty_.

"Uh-h-h... I..." Blu managed to stutter. Jewel chuckled, batting her eyelinds firtatiously. Her bright green eyes left him paralyzed.

"What's the matter, Blu? Cat got your tongue?" she teased as she looked him over. "You don't look to shabby yourself. Ready to go?"

"Uh... y-yeah, just... uh... let me... get... something," Blu struggled to say as he quickly went to the edge of the hollow to pick up a small leather pouch where he had all his spare things for the date. The tree was quite large, and the hollow had several smaller caches around and above it. He flew up to one of them and grabbed the pouch in his claws before heading outside. Jewel was already perched on a branch.

"After you, my darling," he said in his most confident tone. Jewel smiled and the two took to the sky.

The sun had already set, and some of the stars had begun to come out, sparkling in the black sea of space. The jungle had a soft silence to it, one of it's many faces that it reserved for night. In the far distance, Blu could see the soft orange lights of Rio de Janeiro as the city's residents prepared for the nightlife. Eventually, the two love birds passed the sanctuary's fence and entered the wild.

"We should almost be there," Blu told Jewel a while later as the two made a soft bank to the left. Jewel turned around to look at him, and Blu couldn't help but be captivated by her beauty. She was just so glamorous, with her lovely smile and smooth feathers...

Due to his dream-like state, Blu did not even notice the pouch slipping from his claw as they traveled. It was only when he stopped daydreaming long enough to hear Jewel call out to him that he noticed the falling pouch.

"Ah!" he shrieked as he dived down to get it. His flying skill wasn't very well developed, however, and he saw the bag hit the ground just as he noticed his speed. He only had time for one cry of surprise before he crashed through a series of leaves and vines before he smacked into one of the many branches.

"Blu! Are you alright?!" Jewel called in worry as she landed next to him. She helped soothe his head by softly massaging it as he moaned in pain.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," he tried to say casually. _There goes all that time I took getting ready. My feathers must be a mess._

"Here, I'll get the bag," Jewel told him as she flew down and swooped back up with it.

"Thanks," Blu said appreciatively as he looked outward into the horizon, trying to get his bearings. The vines of the trees swayed and curled in the soft breeze. Looking downward, Blu realized that they were actually right over a cliff, albeit not the one where the dinner was waiting.

"Hmm, I think the location is over there," he informed Jewel, pointing towards what he believed to be the general direction of the date spot.

"Great, let's get-" Jewel began, but was suddenly interrupted.

Out of nowhere, one of the vines suddenly shot straight at them, with two small orange dots at the front of it. It threw itself faster than Blu and Jewel could fly, and after one small cry of surprise from Jewel, they were suddenly tied together.

"W-w-what is this?!" Jewel screamed as she struggled to get free.

"My, my, look at what I found," a voice taunted.

Blu managed to turn his head just enough to see the tip of a vine looking right at him with a pair of orange eyes that seemed to have no pupils or eyelids.

_No. Not a vine. A snake._

"W-who are you?" Blu asked, unable to mask his fear.

"Me? Why, I am but a ssssimple ssssnake, looking for a midnight ssssnack..." the snake replied calmly. It wasn't hard to see why Blu had confused it for a vine. It was almost a perfect green, save for its lime-green underbelly. "We green pit vipersss can have quite the appetitessss ssssometimesss."

"Pit vipers?" Blu asked, his mind rapidly short-circuiting as the snake constricted them further, slowly but surely. "I thought you were native to... Asia... or something..."

"Ah, yessss. But when the humanssss traded with thesssse faraway countriessss, a few of my kin ssssmuggled onto their ssshipsss, and we were brought here," the snake patiently replied as if though it was enjoying itself.

"Well?" Blu demanded.

"Well, what?" the snake answered.

"Why don't you just kill us?" Blu replied furiously.

"Ahh. You ssssee, my tasty friend, we pit vipersss usually don't eat birdssss, but in general, we always prefer to ssssqueeze our prey. Sssslowly, but ssssurely, my grip will take it'sssss toll on you."

It paused for a minute to sniff the air. "Hmm... you two ssssound and ssssmell rather sssstrange. Macawssss, but I can't tell what kind. Perhapssss Sssscarlet Macawssss? Maybe Green Macawssss?"

Blu was confused for a moment. Why was the snake not sure of what kind of macaws they were? Surely it could see that-

_Oh, right. Snakes can't see very well. Great. One last bit of trivia before I die..._

"Blu?" a voice came from his right. Blu turned and gasped.

Jewel was tightly constricted next to him, having already given up trying to escape the snake's grip. The snake had to stretch itself a bit in order to bind them both, which only left Blu's talons slightly loose. It was useless to try to fight the snake though, as Blu was barely able to move his talons, and he doubted he would be quick enough anyway.

What truly frightened him, however, was Jewel's expression. Sure, Blu had seen her scared and worried before, but it was nothing compared to this. She looked utterly _terrified_. Tears were streaming down her face, a hopeless look in her eye. It was upon seeing the expression on her face and her tears that Blu finally realized their current state. There was no escaping anymore. He felt panic and sorrow stream into his mind, and probably onto his expression as well.

_She must know, _thought Blu. _She knows this is it for us..._

"Hey, don't worry, it'll be alright," Blu tried to comfort her, but Jewel was no fool.

"Blu... I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm sorry for anything bad I may have ever done to you, sorry for all those times I got mad at you, sorry for all the things we'll never get to do now..."

"Hey, it's not your fault," Blu tried to giver her some final peace as the world began to darken, his senses becoming disproportionate as the snake's bind slowly drained his health.

"Blu... I love you," Jewel managed, now beginning to cry uncontrollably.

"I love you too, Jewel," Blu told her, leaning his beak against hers. If he was going to die, he'd make sure she was the last thing he ever saw.

Jewel's crying ceased for a few moments. She looked Blu directly in the eye, a fierce gaze in her. She suddenly leaned closer to him until their beaks connected.

Despite the fact that he was right about to lose his consciousness, Blu still tried to savor the moment as much as he could. Without a doubt, this was the best kiss the two had ever shared, a fitting end. Jewel's soft beak was full of passion, of warmth, of love...

_..._

_No_.

Jewel's love suddenly seemed to trigger something inside of Blu, a newfound energy. He felt all of his worries and panic slowly melt away, as the two poured their hearts out. His heart began to beat rapidly, and his brain began to kick into overdrive.

_No. I won't let this happen to us. Not here!_

An idea suddenly exploded in Blu's head like a supernova. He gathered his remaining strength and began to slowly stretch his claws out.

"What'ssss thissss? Sssstill got ssssome juice left in you, eh?" The snake hissed menacingly as it tightened it's grip on them.

The bind, however, had no effect on Blu, whose energy allowed him to lunge his talon out one more time as his claws connected with his target.

"Aha hah hah hah-... wait what?" the snake suddenly wondered. He began to sniff the air more frantically.

"Gah! What is that horrible ssssmell?!" it hissed angrily, temporarily losing it's grip.

"Gotcha!" Blu yelled triumphantly as it used the last of his energy hurl himself out of the snake's grasp. Behind him, Jewel gasped. He landed firmly on the branch, a strange item in one claw.

"What foul odor issss thissss?"

"Mint, buddy!" Blu declared confidently.

"Bah! I can't... focussss... with... that..." the ssssnake yelled in pain, swaying around, trying to get a good lock on Blu and Jewel. His super-sensitive nose must have been amplifying the sharp smell.

"...but that doessssn't mean I'm letting you get away!" the snake exclaimed furiously as it launched itself in one last desperate attempt at Blu and Jewel. Both macaws screamed in shock and threw themselves aside, narrowly avoiding the snake as it shot through the air.

"Gah! Wait..." the snake realized as it looked down beneath it. It gave one last cry of surprise before it plummeted off the cliff and into the hard earth far down below.

Blu stood gasping on the branch. Jewel looked like she was right about to say something when suddenly Blu's vision began to twirl in mad circles. He couldn't feel any parts of his body anymore. He was fairly sure he heard Jewel cry out his name before everything blacked out.

…

_Am I dead?_

That was the first thought that formed in Blu's mind when his brain finally started to work again. He tried to see if he could move his wings or claws, but he couldn't feel anything. He wasn't able to speak either. He simply lay... wherever he was... with his eyes closed and brain only slightly working.

He wasn't sure how long he stayed like this when he finally heard a faint sound. He tried to focus on this sound as much as he could, but it still took him a long time to be able to distinguish it. It was the sound of someone weeping.

_But who...?_

"Oh, Blu, please... please Blu,..." the faint voice called. In his suspended state of mind, Blu couldn't manage to do anything but listen.

"Blu, please, you've got to wake up... you can't leave me like this Blu, please just wake up..."

_Is that... Jewel?_

"Blu, I'm sorry. It's all my fault this happened... I should have given you the bag earlier, then you wouldn't have had to sacrifice yourself like that..."

_Jewel..._ The thoughts slowly began to take shape in Blu's mind as his memory began to recall what had happened. He tried to muster up his energy to call to her.

"Blu... you're the only person who's ever made me feel this happy, the only one who's brought such joy and warmth into me, you're the most important person in my life... I can't imagine a world without you... please, Blu..."

WAKE UP!

The thought suddenly tore into Blu's mind, ripping through his pain and confusion. He gave a small groan as he slowly began to open his eyes.

He heard a gasp. He blinked until his vision was clear, allowing him to see that he was back in his hollow, with Jewel hanging over him, a flood of tears streaming down her face.

_Yet she still looks beautiful._

"Ugh..." Blu softly whispered. "Jewel..."

"Blu!" Jewel cried with joy as she threw herself into his arms, not even trying to hide her sorrow. She cried openly into his neck, as he slowly recovered his energy and tried to comfort her by holding her closely with his wing.

"Hey, hey, it's okay...," Blu softly told her as he tried to console her sadness.

"I... I thought I lost you there... I thought you were gone...," she told him, her voice muffled by his feathers.

"It's alright, I'm here, I'm fine."

She looked up from her crying to view straight into his eyes. Despite her mourning, she still had the same fierce look in her as when she had looked at him as they were bound by the snake. She stood there staring at him for a few minutes. Blu viewed her for a few moments, expecting her to break into tears again or collapse from the exhaustion of carrying him back and crying, but she did neither of these things. Instead, she did something Blu was not expecting and launched herself at him, tackling him down and kissing him.

"Whoa!" Blu manged to yelp as he fell backwards. Jewel landed on top of him, embracing him closely as her beak grew warmer and warmer. She did not break contact however, kissing him fiercely. Blu's heart beat frantically as he overcame his initial shock, closing his eyes and returning the passionate kiss. He felt all his other senses begin to go numb. All he could think about was Jewel, her beauty, her smile, her soft heart...

Still, he did break their contact by slightly retracting his beak for a minute as something clicked in his head.

"Jewel, are you sure about this?" he asked her cautiously.

She paused for a moment, the burning love still visible in her eye. She smiled.

"You said it yourself, Blu, remember? We're chained-to-each-other-birds. And I'm never going to let you go...," she cooed into his ear.

Blu felt all his worries, doubts, and everything else in the world melt away as he brought Jewel down, pulling her closer to him.

**I already said it in the original version, but NO, there will NOT be a lemon. Not later, not now, not ever. And also, I am NOT going to give anybody permission to write one for me.**

**You know, this is going to sound like I'm stroking my own ego, but truly, I see little fault with these first chapters, hence why they are basically the exact same as the original version. The REAL change will come in chapters 4-11. I felt that those chapters were the most lacking. The story will hopefully now become a lot more intense and emotional, while still trying to maintain the humor and adventure of Rio!**

**So, with all that rambling out of the way, that adorable little box down there is waiting for you! Remember, fifteen seconds of typing make a HUGE difference in speeding up the posting of the next chapter!**

**Read! Review! Share this story with others! Farewell, for now!**

** -Prophet**


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